Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked US tech companies such as IBM, HP, Google, Accenture, Adobe, and Biogen to co-develop, co-design, and co-produce in India for the world and assured them of the country’s deep commitment to protecting intellectual property and fostering tech innovation.
At a round table with fifteen CEOs of tech companies organised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sunday, the PM stated that his government was committed to making India a global semiconductor manufacturing hub and highlighted the BIO E3 policy to develop India into a biotech powerhouse.
The meeting, organised by MIT, was especially significant given that Modi and US President Joe Biden had hailing an Indo-US joint project to set up a semiconductor fabrication plant in Kolkata during their bilateral meeting in Delaware the previous day.
“The CEOs expressed their strong interest in investing and collaborating with India. India’s growing prominence as a global technology hub, driven by its innovation-friendly policies and flourishing market opportunities, got much appreciation from the tech-leaders. They also agreed that investing in startups would be a synergistic opportunity to innovate and develop newer technologies in India,” per a statement issued by the MEA.
Modi is on a three-day tour to the US, where he attended the Quad Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in Wilmington. He is set to address the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Some of the CEOs who participated in the MIT roundtable included Sundar Pichai from Google, David Ricks from Eli Lilly, Hans Vestberg from Verizon, Arvind Krishna from IBM, Noubar Afeyan from Moderna, Chris Viehbacher from Biogen, Julie Sweet from Accenture, Chris Boerner from Bristol Myers Squibb, Shantanu Narayen from Adobe, Lisa Su from AMD and Enrique Lores from HP.
“He (Modi) encouraged the companies to take advantage of India’s growth story for collaboration and innovation. They can co-develop, co-design, and co-produce in India for the world, harnessing the opportunities from India’s economic and technological growth. He assured the business leaders of India’s deep commitment to protection of intellectual property and to fostering tech-innovation,” the statement added.
The PM highlighted that economic transformation was happening in India, particularly in electronics and information technology manufacturing, semiconductors, biotech and green development.
On AI, Modi said that India’s policy was to promote `AI for All’, underpinned by its ethical and responsible use.
The India-US semiconductor pact – which they have described as a “watershed arrangement” – aims to establish a fabrication plant which will produce chips for national security, next-generation telecommunications and green energy applications,